Death or Doom?
by Envy and Fury
Summary: Previously called 'Unfinished Business', CRACK. Will meets a Mary-Sue, George eats a croissant, Horace falls in lust, Alyss and Will make out, Cassandra and Evanlyn are mixed up AGAIN, Slagor has a son, & Foldar gets hit in the face with a biscuit.
1. The Man in Black Returns

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Ranger's Apprentice because a) I'm not smart enough to come up with an idea like this, and b) I'm not John Flanagan. _

_And just by the way, this story is set after the main events of the seventh book but before Will's graduation. If this is popular, or if I feel like it, I will write a sequel._

**Ranger's Apprentice: Unfinished Business**

**Prologue**

Slagor II, Slagor's son, snuck into the courtyard of Castle Araluen. He had a ship waiting at the Fens. His crew was made entirely of men who were eager to see the Oberjarl removed from his position. _It was a pity that my father was beheaded_, Slagor II thought, _he was cunning, but not cunning enough, and not nearly as cunning as me._ This was true. It had been Slagor II who had tricked Ragnak into taking the Vallasvow by telling him 'that cowardly King Duncan's forces had taken the Skandians' by surprise while they were camping'. He had considered telling Ragnak that his son had died without a weapon in his hand, playing on the Skandian belief that if one were to die in battle without a weapon in one's hand, his soul would wander hopelessly for all eternity. This was all a lie, as Ragnak's son had been killed while the Skandian army was heading out to surprise Duncan's forces by attacking from the rear. Almost nobody knew that Slagor II had told Ragnak this, in fact, few people had heard of Slagor II's existence. Only his father, Slagor I, knew. Slagor had unsuccessfully trieed to have the Crown Princess executed. Slagor II was here to gain revenge on the Ranger who had brought his father's downfall, the Ranger Halt and his silly apprentice. Oberjarl Erak didn't know he was at Araluen – he was on a secret mission.

**Chapter One: The Man in Black Returns**

Will rode tug towards the main gate at Redmont. The guards nodded, and greeted him cordially. Will called out a 'Good day!' to them and sped on towards the stables. Tug's hooves clattered on the road as he rode through the town. They soon reached the stable where Will settled Tug. Quickly giving Tug an apple, he raced off to Halt and Pauline's quarters to find out what Halt wanted him for.

--

'So what you're saying is this, uh, Slagor II has made a successful raid on the village just outside Castle Araluen?' Will asked, surprised. He had never heard of a Skandian raiding an inland settlement. Nor had he known that Slagor had a son.

'Not only that, but Foldar has been hiding there the whole time.' Halt told Will. Foldar had been Morgarath's senior lieutenant before Morgarath's defeat. The Ranger Corps had been trying to locate him for quite a while. It didn't help that many robbers and bandits used his name to strike terror into their victims' minds.

'So this Slagor Junior is in league with Foldar?' Will asked, more than a little confused. 'I thought Skandians were meant to be simple folk, you know, sail right, stop here, move forward, attack.'

'Don't forget that his father wasn't simple. Don't assume like the Temujai did. It was their fatal mistake.' Halt warned. The Temujai were fierce fighters, known as the Riders of the Eastern Steppes. Not long ago, they had decided they wanted to take over the world, and for that, they needed ships. They were quick to learn, and soon developed clever tactics against straightforward, head-on attacks. This was the normal Skandian battle tactic, if it could be called a tactic, but Halt taught them how to beat the Temujai, after deciding that the Skandians were a more controllable enemy. It had been a bloody war, but eventually the Skandians had won.

'We're sending Gilan over to investigate. Him and his blue stone are a tough pair.' Gilan was the newest member of the Ranger Corps, and Halt's previous apprentice. He was also a good friend of both Will and Halt.

'Blue stone?'

'Never mind. I just want to find out if the rumours are true.'

'But I thought…' Will began.

'Always a problem.' Halt interrupted.

'I though you would have gone.' Will continued.

'You and I are going to meet Gilan there. If it's urgent, he'll send news.'

'But I thought…' Will began again, realising his mistake too late.

'You're an apprentice. You're not ready to think.' Halt replied as he strode off to saddle Abelard.

--

For two days, Will and Halt rode towards Castle Araluen. It took half a day to reach the ruins of the recently raided village. As Will dismounted, Gilan emerged.

'Bad news.' Gilan stated. 'Foldar has been hiding here all along. He was disguised as a rich merchant, and lived in a large house just over in that direction.' Gilan pointed, then continued unhappily. 'If he could remain hidden right under our noses, who else could?'

'Relax, Gilan.' Halt said, trying to reassure him. 'Foldar's much smarter than the majority of villains put together. Besides, can't do anything about it now, except look for him. At least we know what to look for.'

'Gilan?' Will asked. 'When were you informed of this?'

'About a week ago. Why?' Gilan replied.

Will shot a hurt look in Halt's direction. Halt raised an eyebrow.

'News reaches Meric Fief faster than Redmont.' Halt said. Will was silent.

'Anyway,' Gilan continued. 'Slagor II and Foldar left Araluen about a week ago, through the Fens. That would mean they probably rode.'

'How do we know that it was Foldar and Slagor II? Surely they woulds have killed every eyewitness.' Will commented. Then he realised what Gilan had just said. 'You mean Slagor junior _rode a bucking machine_?!' No Skandian liked to ride a horse. They kept falling off every time the horse moved, and claimed that the horse had bucked him off. Or at least Svengal did. Will smiled at the thought. He missed the burly figures of Erak and Svengal.

'Spoken like a few Ranger.' Gilan muttered, refering to Will's original question. 'It was hard to miss the fact that the town was raided by a Skandian. I mean, look around, almost everything that wasn't nailed down was taken.' Gilan said with a smile, remembering Cassandra's, or to Will and Horace, Evanlyn's description of Erak on a raid. 'As for Foldar, there's a lot of his handiwork around. It's pretty hard to miss. Well, if you're a Ranger. They might as well have put up a sign saying '_SLAGOR II AND FOLDAR WERE HERE_'. Actually, they did.'

'What do you mean?' Halt asked, and Will nodded his agreement.

'Well, we know it was definitely them because they scratched their names into the floor of the house Foldar was staying at. Halt, I think they want to be found.'


	2. Fishing for Food and Foldar

**Chapter 2: Fishing for Food and Foldar**

Halt, Will and Gilan sat around the camp fire, thinking over what they would do. It was very intriguing, the idea that Foldar and Slagor II wanted to be found. Halt and Gilan were sitting there, thoughtful and silent. Will sat impatiently, waiting for one of them to talk. Halt had made it clear that apprentices should only express their opinion when necessary. Now seemed like a good time to Will, but evidently not to Halt. But in the end, Will burst out, 'Well? What are we going to do?' Halt and Gilan's eyes turned towards him. Halt opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, a thumping noise came from the forest, followed by a loud curse. The Rangers quickly put out the fire and crouched down, blending into the greenery. Will peered out, hoping he was inconspicuous. Halt recognised the intruder first.

'Quick, go get more food! We have a visitor.' he said. The rider, or rather, walker, as he was leading his horse and peering around, was Horace. His brown hair fell across his blue eyes as he looked down at the remains of the fire. Many ladies at court found this attractive, especially the Crown Princess, Cassandra herself. He was quite tall, and had seemingly endless energy, which probably came from all the food he ate. Will stood up, and Horace brought his horse, Kicker, over to his hiding place.

'Gorlog's beard! Just when we thought we'd have enough food for a decent camp, you come to eat it all!' Halt told Horace, not unkindly.

'I came on an order of King Duncan!' Horace protested.

'He ordered you to eat all our food?'

'No, but I'll do it anyway. Starting now.' Horace started pawing through the campsite, looking for his treasure. Halt groaned.

'Any chance it could wait?'

'Absolutely not. Except that the King wants Halt to go do something in the west, while Gilan, Will and I stay on this task.' Horace said, while continuing to rummage. 'AH HA!!' He pulled out some dried beef, and started chewing. 'Oh, and Lady Pauline says hello and to tell Will that she might have to send one of her couriers down soon. There's a lot of messages.'

Will blushed. Of course Lady Pauline had noticed the slightly-more-than-friendship relationship Will had with Alyss, one of her couriers.

--

Foldar and Slagor II slowly made their way to the village. They were an odd sight, the big Skandian leading his horse, refusing to ride, and the thin, almost sallow, man dressed all in black, looking remarkably like his late master, Lord Mogarath, riding a dark chestnut. Foldar muttered under his breath, annoyed at the slow pace. They could go much faster if that big, bumbling oaf would ride. What else was a horse for? Foldar rolled his eyes, thinking of the rolling deck of a ship at sea, and the gentle plodding of horses. Ridiculous.

'Something wrong?' Slagor II asked sweetly, sensing what was irritating his companion. He stared intimidatingly into Foldar's eyes. 'I'm sure I could fix it for you.' he hissed. Foldar opened his mouth, then seemed to reconsider, and shook his head. They needed to get along, if they were going to get the Rangers.

Suddenly, a menacing chuckle came from the trees, and something fell out from the branches. It was a net, and it completely covered Foldar. A man dressed in badly dyed black clothes attempted to jump out of the tree. After spending a few seconds lying stunned on the ground, the man from the tree said, 'I am Fold--' then stopped. He was one of the fake Foldars that had been causing so much trouble. Slagor II reached for his battleaxe and the fake Foldar ran.


	3. Surprise Visitors

**Sorry if I gave you the wrong impression before, but this story is not one-shot, it will have several chapters, and _possibly_ a sequel. (My definition of several: anywhere from 5 to 920958408350375938573975938457934579347592793483487249815273539457932759327598327.)**

**Chapter 3: Surprise Visitors**

Foldar cursed. 'Help me out of this, Slagor!!'

'In time, Foldar, have patience. After I do, we're going back to Castle Araluen. There's someone I want to visit. He could help us get to Will and Halt.'

'Fine, whatever, just get me _out_!!' Slagor did nothing. Foldar growled and lashed out at him. The Skandian jumped back surprisingly nimbly, then slashed the net with his saxe knife, freeing his companion, who was by now _slightly_ pissed.

'Get on that damned horse and let's go.' Foldar muttered.

--

George looked up from his pile of papers. 'Wha...?' He was cut off by a large, smelly hand that suddenly clapped itself over his mouth. A thin man dressed all in black walked into the room, staring around rather haughtily. He then turned to George, and bowed mockingly.

'My humble greetings.' the man said in a voice that was anything but humble. 'My name is Foldar.' Foldar's tone changed into a harsh squawk. 'Kill him, Slagor, and we'll let Mr. I'm-So-Much-Better-Than-You-Because-I'm-a-Ranger-with-a-Silly-Necklace-Shaped-like-a-Leaf and his big bumbling warrior friend know.'

'Are you sure that's there isn't a better way?' Slagor asked.

'Wait! Don't kill him. Let's take him with us.'

--

'Horace!' Will called.

'Will!' Horace ran to greet his friend.

'George has been captured! Slagor's son, Slagor II and Foldar took him!'

'We have to get him! Back, I mean.'

'Yes, I got that much. I'll go and tell Halt.'

'I'll come, just in case.'

'In case of what?'

'You never know.'

--

'So, you two are going off to rescue George? Is that so?' Halt raised an eyebrow.

'Uh, yes, that's right.' Horace said quickly.

'Well, Slagor II is keen to get back to Skandia, and he's taking Foldar and George with him. They'll be sailing soon, mounting raids on the coast of Gallica and Teutland as they pass. Foldar used to have an acquaintance there.'

'Used to?' Will asked, his curiousity bubbling.

'Yes. Horace, I think you know him.'

'Me? Know Foldar's friend? Not likely.' Horace protested.

'His name was Deparnieux. Ring a bell?' Halt continued.

'Oh, right.'

'And Foldar and Slagor II aren't the only enemies you'll have to watch out for.'

'No?' Will felt his determination melting away.

'No. Deparnieux had a little girl. She'll be around seventeen now.'

'What?! Deparnieux? Daughter? No. No. That doesn't work.' Horace burst out laughing at the idea. He laughed so hard that Tug and Abelard stared at him in surprise.

'Horace, be serious for a minute or so, then you can choke all you want. Her name is Casca'de, and she's been asking around recently. Asking about 'the Oakleaf Chevalier and his cloaked companion' a lot. I think she wants to avenge her father.'

'No, I'm here for a tea party.' A girl's voice, low and mockingly sarcastic, came from the trees. A slim girl wearing a grey dress edged with black lace stepped out. 'I have something to settle with you, Ranger Halt.'

Will was impressed by her knowledge, as well as somewhat disturbed by the fact that she knew Halt's name. Her features were Gallican, but she spoke fluent Araluan without a trace of an accent.

'Are you Casca'de? Horace asked bluntly.

'Very clever, aren't you, _Horace_?' she spat his name with contempt. 'Of course I am.' She stepped forward, and the two Rangers and Horace realised that she had her hand resting on the hilt of a dagger. She unsheathed the dagger, revealing a simple, sharp blade made out of obsidian. Will glanced at Halt, who had not moved. Surely he realised what she wanted. Was he just going to let her kill him? As he pondered, he saw Alyss enter the cabin almost silently, and drive her dagger into Casca'de's unprotected back. The dark haired girl stumbled.

'This isn't the end, and just remember this, _as long as I continue to exist, there will be a shadow upon your world_.' Her words sent a shiver of fear through both Will and Horace, who shuddered as the girl staggered into the forest.

Things were quiet, then Horace started to walk into the forest where Casca'de had disappeared.

'No, Horace. Don't go after her. Chances are that she'll find you, and you and Will need to find George.'

'Aren't you coming with us?'

'No. I have other things to do, all of which will help you find Slagor II and Foldar.'

'Thanks, Halt. Goodbye.' Will said.

'Yes, bye!' Horace added.

'Farewell, Will, Horace. Good luck.' Then Horace and Will left.

--

A while later, Horace was pondering Casca'de's words, and the girl herself. He wondered if she would die. He doubted it. Then his mind wandered to contemplate her appearance. She was quite pretty, he thought, with smooth, rich black hair and sharp, slightly intimidating features. It was such a shame she was evil. But still, Horace admired her tracking skills and courage.

'Find George.' he muttered suddenly, to keep himself on track. He cursed Slagor II and Foldar to the most painful corner of whatever hell they believed in, and set of with renewed determination.

* * *


	4. Apprenticeship

**Hi again. Please, _please_, review. I don't care whether you thought it was stupid, or think that some of the characters need more work. If you do, _tell me_. I want to know, and please post suggestions as well. Just to let you know, if you post a suggestion, and I don't use it, it's not because it was weird and I didn't like it, it was because it didn't fit in with the plot. And sorry if I kill off your favourite character in an indignified way.**

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**Chapter 4: Apprenticeship**

Gilan smiled as he watched arrow after arrow slam into the targets he'd set up earlier. His apprentice was a fifteen year old girl named Ailee, daughter of the baron of Meric Fief and his wife, Lady Eivarroa. Her brown eyes were full of courage and determination, and her curly brown hair fell around her shoulders as she reached for another arrow. Ailee's lips were tight as she focused on the multiple targets, aimed, and fired. Gilan saw her eyes tighten as some arrows missed the centre, and then light up as the others hit. After she had used up all her arrows, she look up at Gilan, and he laughed at the worry in her eyes. Ailee was a perfectionist, and worried about getting in trouble for not being perfect. Gilan could see that she was exhausted after the hard day, and she had every right to be.

'That's enough for today.' Gilan told her. 'Come in and I'll cook us some of Halt's legendary stew. There's coffee on the table.' Ailee's eyes lit up at the word 'coffee'.

--

Ailee sat in silence with her eyes closed as she let her muscles relax, and drained her cup of coffee, then reached for a refill. She looked around, then spotted the jar she wanted next to Gilan.

'Gilan, could you pass the honey?' Gilan grinned and obliged.

'Glad to see you have good taste in coffee.'

'Will we be visiting Halt and Will anytime soon? I miss them.'

'Soon, but not yet. How about in two days?'

'That'd be great, but tomorrow would be better.'

'You want to walk there? Fine with me, but I have another method.'

--

The next morning, Gilan walked into the forest, with Ailee close behind. As they headed further, Ailee got more and more curious.

'Please?' she begged. 'Where are we going? Gilan, I want to know!'

'It's a surprise, missy.' Gilan replied in a rough deep voice, surprising Ailee. 'You just keep on walking and you'll find out.' Ailee glared at Gilan.

'You know, I'm really hungry, so maybe we could stop at that chef's place.' She laughed when she saw him blush.

'Not today. How about tomorrow when we visit Will and Halt?'

'Yay.' Ailee gasped in surprise as they reached what she assumed was their destination. An old man with a long beard came out of a small hut to greet them.

'Hullo there, Gil. Who's this 'un?' the man asked.

'This is my apprentice, Ailee. Ailee, this is Old Bob.'

'Good day, Bob.' Ailee said politely.

'She's all polite and ladylike! What are yer doing teaching her to tramp around the forest?' Bob exclaimed.

'We're not going to tramp any longer. That's why we're here.' Gilan replied with a wink.

'Come on then.' Bob led them to the back of the small hut. There was a paddock and a small stable here. Roaming around inside the paddock were two little horses. The taller of the two, a bay mare, trotted over to Gilan.

'Hello, Blaze. I missed you, girl.' Gilan said, feeling rather soppy. Ailee wandered over to greet the other horse. She looked into the horses eyes and saw surprising intelligence. She glanced at Gilan, before staring back at the sorrel.

'That's Sorcha. Means something like 'light' or 'brightness' in Gallic.' Bob told her.

'And she's yours.' Glian finished.

'So I just get on?'

'She's just a horse, right? Surely you've handled horses before.' Gilan said. Ailee started to climb up, but paused when she saw Gilan's innocent expression. She quickly got back onto the ground.

'What did you do? There's some secret, right?'

Gilan sighed. 'You know me too well.' Turning to Bob, he asked, 'What's Sorcha's code?'

'Her's is '_vai permitir mei_'.'

'Is that 'will you allow me?'?'

'Not sure. Something like that, anyway.'

'So, _vai pemitir mei_?'

'Not to me, to the horse.' Gilan smiled. Ailee whispered in Sorcha's ear. 'Now what?'

'Haha!!' Bob laughed. 'She's got a suspicious mind, Gil, just like you!'

'Now you mount.' Gilan told Ailee. She did, and nudged Sorcha gently. The little sorrel walked forward.

--

Gilan grinned at Ailee. 'Done playing with the horsie?' he teased. 'Bob probably wants us out of here by now.'

'Okay, okay. I get it. Are we riding home?'

'Yes, we are.'

Ailee laughed, and galloped out of the paddock, yelling goodbye to Bob. Gilan mounted quickly and chased after the disappearing figure.

* * *

**Please review! And most of the chapters aren't nearly as centred on one character as this one. A friend wanted it in my story, because her favourite character is Gilan, and she wanted him to have an awesome apprentice. *rolls eyes***


	5. Ode to George

**Hi yet again. If you read the reviews and find that I reviewed myself, ignore that. BECAUSE I HAVE CRAZY PEOPLE FOR FRIENDS WHO LIKE TO PUT SIGNED REVIEWS APPARENTLY BY ME ON THERE. The truth is that _originally_ I _was_ going to share this account, just for this story, because it's a shared story that I edit before putting it up, i.e.: taking away any overly wonderful people and making them normal. *glares at the person who wrote chapter 3 and threw a fit on her review when she found out that a reviewer had called Ailee full of herself even though I deleted it* Unfortunately, we made a deal, so all you poor sane people out there will have to deal with 'me' reviewing myself. Anyway, please send reviews, because I'd like to see what _sane_people think. *glares some more* Don't let them put you off. And also, I would like to thank Hades Krazy Daughter for reviewing, and 'Anomonous' who is one of the anonymous reviewers, but still made my day better. And please send in any ideas, and who you want dead, tortured, or kidnapped, etc. I aim to please (sometimes).**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Ode to George**

Foldar looked at the sun and grumbled under his breath. Slagor II looked around enquiringly. Foldar frowned, and shook his head, unwilling to get into a fight with Slagor this soon. They could fight when they were far away from Araluen, in Skandia. Right now, they were still in Araluen, and Slagor II was taking _forever and a day_to get onto his horse. Slagor II shrugged, then continued 'attempting' to get on his horse, nearly falling into a ditch as he 'tried'. Foldar sighed, and went back to his plotting. They had George as a captive, with Slagor II looking after him. He glanced around, and saw Slagor peering up at the disappearing sun, watching carefully, and mouthing numbers. George was not in view. _Foldar couldn't see George!_ He nearly panicked.

'Slagor, where's the boy?' he asked frantically.

'I, ah, well, ah, right there?' Slagor asked, looking for George, falling off the horse in an attempt to look under it.

'Damn you, Slagor! You were supposed to be watching him! And then he runs away! How'd this happen?!'

'Well, you see, he asked me when the sun would set in three days time, and I didn't know, so I tried to work it out, then... I don't know...' He trailed off.

'Great. Now we have to find him.'

--

Meanwhile, George was running and stumbling down a steep hill, in the direction he thought the castle was. But he didn't really care that much. He just wanted to get away from 'the evil creatures who spilled his blood', as he put it, even though he only had a few bruises, and no cuts or scratches or stab wounds at all. He really did not think that anyone with the smallest shred of mercy would have kidnapped 'poor, helpless, lil ol' me', because underneath all the big fancy lawyer talk, a wimp hid there.

(**This is the song: Ode to George**)

_Twang_ went a branch as it hit him in the head  
_Bump_ went George as he fell into a flower bed  
_Oww... _yelled he as tripped, his head all in a muddle  
_Sploosh_ as he tumbled down down down down into a puddle

_And he went dooowwn, oh, he went doooowwwwwn  
Down into the deep black pit of despair and anger and miserabliltyness and hope I mean doom  
And he went dooowwn, oh, he went doooowwwwwn  
Down into his _(in a really low voice) _doom_

_Bam _as he hit his head on a rock and knocked himself out and fell down unnoticed by anyone safe and dreaming of stars and debates and evil raiding Skandians.........

--

Horace and Will trotted carefully through the forest, Will's cloak rendering him practically invisible to Horace, who watched with amazement and awe. He was about to praise Will, until Will held out a hand, motioning for Horace to be quiet. Will had stopped Tug, dismounted and was now peering closely at the ground, in a way that made Horace want to question his sanity. Suddenly, Will stood up, startling Horace.

'This is a fake track!' Will said, nearing hysteria. 'We've been following the wrong track, and I'm supposed to be a Ranger, and Rangers are supposed to know this stuff as soon as they see it!'

'Will, you're only an apprentice.' Horace said, trying to calm him down so that he could ask about the fake track.

'So that's why they didn't let me become a full Ranger when you got to be a knight! They knew this would happen, and that's why I'm still an apprentice!'

Horace raised one eyebrow.

'Oh, Horace, I'm a terrible Ranger! Maybe you should do this and I'll just go back to my little cabin and pack my stuff and move to Skandia and offer myself as a slave!'

Horace raised his other eyebrow.

'Ah, this is terrible! I'll end up back on warmweed, and I'll live my life the way I should've from the beginning, as a stupid, mindless slave!'

Horace grabbed Will's shoulders and shook him hard. 'Don't you _ever_say that ever again! Remember what happened? And you're not stupid. You're not mindless. You saved Halt and the Baron and Sir Rodney from the Kalkara, and you saved the King and his army from Morgarath and his bridge. You saved Skandia from being enslaved by the Temujai, which by doing you practically saved the world. And you saved a princess.'

Will stepped back and straightened himself. He nodded. 'Sorry. I won't do that again.'

Horace sighed with relief. 'What's this you were saying about a fake track?' he asked carefully.

'Foldar and Slagor II have taken a faster route, and I'm pretty sure they planned to launch a surprise attack on us when we reached the end of the trail.'

'I see. What would they accomplish by doing this?'

'Probably killing us.'

--

Blaze and Sorcha neighed repeatedly to each other. Gilan was starting to get puzzled. He'd never seen Blaze act like that before. After a while, he just put it down to friendliness, even though he knew that it was a really lame reason. He glanced at Ailee and smiled. The girl looked so happy and content, softly stroking Sorcha's neck. Gilan knew that Ailee had ridden, and owned, at least half a dozen horses, but this one held a special place in her heart. Abruptly, the two horses' ears pricked up, and they whinnied together, a worried sound. Gilan turned. He didn't like what he saw.

The war dogs looked surprisingly cheerful and happy. They barked at the Rangers and their horses, growled when they came near, but nothing more. They sniffed them, and licked Sorcha comfortingly, as she was nearly having a fit. They did this, and nothing more. Gilan and Ailee had already dismounted, their weapons ready, and Ailee, an animal lover, bent down and held out her hand to the dogs. Gilan was ready to pull her back and yank her away with him, when he saw that the dogs were responding like any other dogs, sweet and always ready to be loved. Ailee reached into her bag and pulled out some dried meat, and gave it to the dogs.

'Oh, Gilan, can we take them with us?' Ailee asked, her voice breaking the awkward silence. Gilan tried to think of a polite way to say: _no way in hell_, but then he heard Ailee sigh with disappointment. The dogs had left.

--

'Oh, for the love of all that's holy!' Halt grumbled, 'Won't that dratted idiot of a boy leave me _alone_?!'

Alyss looked around the corner, where Halt was glaring, and saw the laundry maid's son, Aaron, pompously attempting to stride smoothly towards them. He nearly tripped.

'Shoot.' Alyss muttered. Aaron had seen them. 'Do you think we could turn around?'

'No, it's too late now.' Halt said dismally.

'I suppose we will have to put up with the silly idiot.'

--

Aaron had watched 'the beautiful blond courier, Alyss, and the legendary Halt' for several minutes before striding out 'elegantly yet with a masculine feel' towards them. He thought this made him look more like 'the knight he was on the inside'.

When he was well within earshot, Halt said to him, 'Listen, Sir Wannabe, but Alyss and I, and _only_ Alyss and I, are going on an important mission.'

That was the wrong thing to say. 'Ohh, an important mission! I'm the knight for the job!' Aaron said, forgetting that Halt had called him 'Sir Wannabe'.

'First of all, Aaron,' Alyss spat his name contemptuously. 'You are not even a knight, and secondly, in case you've forgotten, Halt said 'only me and him', in other words, not you.' With that, Alyss and Halt left, Alyss gliding gracefully away, and Halt striding like Aaron had tried to.

A few minutes later, Alyss looked back to make sure he wasn't following. He wasn't. Aaron was sitting on the drawbridge, sulking and looking very much like the nickname Halt had given him: 'Sir Wannabe'.

A few minutes after that, there came a large _splash_. Alyss turned once more and saw instantly what had happened: Aaron was no longer sulking on the drawbridge. He was sulking in the water beneath it.


	6. Blue Stone

**Sorry about the slightly crowded spacing, but my computer's not working properly. *growls in frustraion* Thank you to all reviewers, except the loonies who decided to use my account and make it look like I reviewed myself. *glares* To the rest of you, REVIEW. Reviews encourage me not to create total chaos and war and evilness and chaos and more chaos. And belive me, all you bloodthirty people out there, blood is better when it is prepared properly. When chaos and war and evilness comes, I'll just make lots of people jump of buildings and cliffs. Now I sound like a vicious, bloodthirsty, evil, creepy, suicidal, homocidal, insane freak.**

**To TheStarr: Ok, by 'sane' people I meant people _WHO DON'T GET ONTO THE WRITER'S ACCOUNT AND POST REVIEWS APPARENTLY BY ME_. And thanks for understanding that it's being cowritten. I only fully write every third chapter (like this one). I just edit the others, and add bits like Horace searching for food (chapter 2) and 'Sir Wannabe' which I really like. _Forever and a day_ is one of my favourite sayings. And yes, people look at me funny too.**

**To anonomous: Trust me, there will be _plenty_ more George action. *laughs like an evil psychopath***

**To Hades Krazy Daughter: This is about your review for Chapter 2. If you think that's exciting, well, I hope you're sitting down for the middle and the end. There's *ahem* more 'excitement' there. *another slightly psychotic but mainly evil laugh***

**By the way, I might not update as much these next two weeks, because I don't have the book. insert sad face here I might include a few author's notes though, just to tell you a bit about what _might_ happen, just so you don't abandon me completely. And if you think that I am overly grammatical and boring, I'm NOT. *sticks tongue out at people who think I am overly grammatical and boring***

**WARNING: THE TWO ODDITIES WHO REVIEWED SEEMINGLY AS ME ARE PLANNING A HARRY POTTER/MAXIMUM RIDE CROSSOVER SOON! BEWARE! And there might be other random bits and pieces around. *glares at the two oddities mentioned above* **

**And I keep forgetting about these: Disclaimer: Not John Flanagan. Therefore, I don't own Ranger's Apprentice. (If I did, Casca'de _would_ exist, and there would be a few other changes as well *flicks eyes left and right in a very suspicious manner***

**Claimer: I have nothing to claim except a bad social science assignment and a bottle of liquid whiteout. Possibly the some of the plot to this story though, and probably most, if not all of the sequel. (Yes, I am planning a sequel. Deal with it.)**

**Anyway, here's chapter 6.**

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**Chapter 6: Blue Stone**

Aaron shook himself angrily, spat out a mouthful of water, sneezed, then headed back to the castle. He promised himself revenge. But for now, he would go and see his sweetheart and lover, Gabriella.

--

'I wish they hadn't gone,' Ailee said again. Bust as concerned as she was, she was still slightly relieved about the dogs' sudden disappearance. She and Gilan had looked for them but they really did seem to have vanished.

'Relax, Ailee. We'll talk to Halt and Will while we're visiting, and they'll help us.

'Well,' Ailee began uncertainly. 'Gilan, I think you might want to have a look at that first.' She pointed to a trail of blood. 'Especially since it looks like it's coming from Will's cabin!'

Gilan urged Blaze to a gallop, following the trail. If anything, Ailee's concern was even greater than Gilan's, so she and Sorcha soon overtook them.

'Look! Gilan, over here!' Ailee called. Gilan and Blaze trotted up to her. For the second time that day, she pointed. This time though, she was pointing at a girl's body slumped either unconscious or dead, in the middle of a pool of blood. Gilan dismounted and knelt beside the figure.

'She's still alive. But unless we can do something, she'll be dead.'

--

'Gabby?' Gabriella looked up. It was her mother, Elspeth.

'Mother? What has happened?'

'Aaron wishes to see you.'

'Admit him.' This was always how things went between Gabriella and her adoptive mother. Noble and servant. Gabriella insisted, because she was sure she was going to be a noble one day.

'Aaron, how lovely to see you,' Gabriella murmured in what she assumed was a rich vibrato. Her voice came out thin and slightly squeaky. 'Mother, you may go.'

Elspeth left.

'Gabby! At last, you have time for me!' Aaron exclaimed.

'Yes, I do. My life is busy, though. I hope you are not just here to be sociable.'

'Oh, no! I need your help. I want to be a knight, like Sir Horace, only I'd be a lot better.'

'Why, of course I'll help,' Gabriella giggled flirtatiously. 'My Aaron. Sir Aaron of the Order if the Fluttery Flower Fairies. How lovely, isn't it?'

'Well, maybe not that, exactly...'

--

Slagor II wobbled, then fell off his horse, Foldar snorted, then collapsed in helpless pearls of laughter. Slagor II glared indignantly at Foldar, which made him laugh so hard that he fell off his gorse. Then both men were sitting on the ground, quite unaware that someone was watching them, Someone named Will.

Will's shoulders shook as he suppressed his laughter.'

'What? What is it? I want a look!' Horace complained.

'Okay, but keep quiet.'

'Ahem. Have you forgotten who you're talking to? This is _me_. Quiet is not in my vocabulary.'

'Just look, Horace.'

'Fine.' Horace got up from his crouch, and went to look out of the small hole in the bush. He assessed the situation then snorted. Will let out a giggle, followed by another, and soon both of them were laughing.

'What's that roaring noise?' Slagor II asked Foldar. Foldar shrugged.

'Well, I'll have a look,' he continued.

'Anything to get off that horse, Slagor?' Foldar muttered under his breath as Slagor II walked towards the bushes where Will and Horace were 'roaring'.

--

'Ailee!' Gilan gasped for breath. 'I found out who the girl is!'

'Oh, who?'

They had taken the girl with them, mainly out if curiosity. When they had reached Gilan's cabin, Ailee had found the stab wound on the girl's back and treated it.

'Have you heard of the war lord Deparnieux?'

'Yes. He's dead, right?'

'That;s right, Halt killed him. And this is his daughter, Casca'de.'

Ailee's eyes widened. 'Of course. I should have known.'

'But now we have to do something before she wakes up.'

Casca'de's eyelids fluttered.

--

Casca'de opened her eyes and found a knife at her throat. Her eyes flicked left and right taking in her surroundings. The last thing she remembered doing was finding a pack of war dogs, then sending them off to find the way out of the forest, and kill anyone in the way.

The young man holding the knife held up a blue stone.

'Look at the blue. Give in to the wonderful blue,' he said, spinning the stone slowly. 'Give in to the blue... What's your name?'

'Casca'de Veratis.' Blue filled Casca'de's mind.

'Who is you mother?'

'Her name was Kyrinene Gradi.'

'What happened to her?'

'I don't know. She vanished.'

'When?'

'Seven years ago.'

'Tell me about your life so far.'

'I don't remember exactly. But I remember that I was a secret. They pretended that I was Kyrinene's niece. My name was Cassy, and I was a farmer's daughter. Then when I was ten, Kyrinene disappeared and Deparnieux decided that I should disappear too. But he didn't want to kill me, just in case Kyrinene came back. She didn't like me, but I suppose she thought that I was a part of her, sort of. So Deparnieux shut me in a tower room, without a handle on the inside, and told only the chef, the housekeeper amd Philemon, the captain of the soldiers, about me. Then I never saw him again. Five years later Philemon came and told me that Deparnieux was dead, and that he was now in charge. He gave me two days to pack my things and leave. After a year of wandering, I decided to avenge my father. A few days after I turned seventeen, I found Halt.'

Gilan had been listening in growing astonishment to Casca'de's past, and then he dropped the blue stone when she was done. As soon as he did Casca'de's senses returned. She hated blue. Hated it with a passion.

'Who _are_ you, exactly?' she asked.

'My name's Gilan, and this is Ailee,' the man said. 'When I mesmerised you, you never referred to Deparnieux as your father or Kyrelene as your mother.. Why?'

Casca'de's s eyes hardened. 'I prefer not to think of them that way. They hated me. I hated them.'

'Yet you're trying to avenge Deparnieux?' Ailee questioned suspicously.

'As I said, I was needing something to do. If you have an alternative, I'd welcome it. I mean, an alternative to avenging Deparnieux, because I'd rather not.'

'What a happy family,' Gilan muttered to Ailee.

* * *

**I iz back! Slightly less grammaticalised than before! Anyways, just in case you've read the 5th and 6th book, the blue rock Gilan used is the very same as what _he_ used on Alyss!! And don't worry, it will get to _his_ hands before the end of the book. And if there are any typos, sorry, had to get the Gilan-obsessor to email it to me. pfft.**


	7. A General Overview

**NAME CHANGE!! Too many stories are called 'Unfinished Business' and at the time I was just really struggling to come up with something, so now it's going to be *dramatic and slightly frightening music* 'Death or Doom?'! YAY!**

**To Anonomous: Hello MacNashi. Or is it Jemelon? Either way, QUIT IT!! Oh, and ever heard of 'subtle'? Try it some time. If it's not either of you, and no one I know, sorry, but it looks a whole lot like them!! *rolls eyes in despair but mainly to annoy MacNashi* Yes, there is going to be a HP/MR CO and it's going to be written by MacNashi and Jemelon, the crazies. And just in case anyone reading this is a crazy stalker, those are NICKNAMES.**

**To Hades Krazy Daughter: Thanks for reviewing a few times. It makes everything better when crazy people (like MacNashi and Jemelon) review randomly. And, no, I don't think 'grammaticalised' is a word. **

**NOT MY FAULT IF THERE ARE TYPOS!! Didn't have time to edit, sorry! *sighs in despair***

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**Chapter 7: A General Overview**

Aaron watched angrily as Alyss skipped over to Halt. It had become a routine lately so he knew when Halt was going to show up. He grumbled to himself then moved a few steps to the right where he was able to get a better view of the tall, elegant girl. Alyss was probably a hundred times prettier than Gabriella, but whenever he tried to talk to her, the young apprentice Ranger glared at him. Aaron hated Will. He had turned Alyss against him, Aaron was sure of it. Will wasn't with Alyss at the moment, probably skulking around the forest or something. Aaron saw this to his advantage and marched tall and proud to where the beautiful girl was standing.

--

'So what you're saying is that I should use my tracking skills to follow the Northerner?' Casca'de asked, slightly confused. 'Why?'

'Well, he is a danger to Araluen, the Skandian Oberjarl and many others,' Gilan explained. 'And you said you wanted something to do. Here's the opportunity.'

'Well, when you put it that way I can't think of any better idea,' Casca'de replied. 'I guess I'll see you later, I have country men to track.'

'Whoa,' Ailee mouthed to Gilan. 'That was strange. It's not everyday you see a potential enemy swap sides for another countries need. What's more, it wasn't even a _need,_ but more of a wish.'

Gilan grinned at her. 'Well at least we know she isn't going to come back at us, I saw no lie in her eyes.'

'Oh, yes. _Very_ reassuring,' Ailee rolled her eyes. 'By the way, you still haven't explained what we are going to do. Are we going to go find Halt or not?

--

Alyss watched Halt carefully. He had recently seen Aaron off but he was sure to come back. He _always_ did.

'Stupid drat of an idiot is watching us again,' Halt grumbled.

'Come Halt. Pauline has informed me that Gilan recently arrived at your apartment. Let's go.'

How could she stay so calm? Halt wondered bitterly. He hated the boy as much as Will.

'I'm not going to let that boy know where I live,' Halt muttered to Alyss.

Alyss rolled her eyes. 'Halt _everyone_ knows where you live, it's not much of a secret.'

They had reached Castle Redmont a few days ago, but unfortunately the cook's son had followed them with his fiancée, who flipped her hair and flounced off as soon as she saw Alyss.

'I bet "he" doesn't,' Halt muttered under his breath, loud enough for Alyss to hear.

'Halt we _know_ he doesn't know your exact location, but you have to go there sometime. Think of how Will would feel if you led hum to the cabin. He would hate it.'

Halt cursed realising she was right. He couldn't betray Will by staying at the little cabin. 'Fine. But make sure he's not watching.'

--

Sorcha reared at Ailee's command and spun in a semi-circle, then gaining her balance as only a Ranger horse could, galloped past the cabin before Gilan could say 'Well done.'

Ailee trotted Sorcha out of the trees and Gilan smiled. His apprentice was going well. THey had decided to meet Alyss and Halt a few hundred metres away from the cabin. While they waited for them to arrive, Ailee was practicing her horsemanship skills under Gilan's insistence. She enjoyed this part of being a Ranger the most. Ailee enjoyed most of the Ranger training, but this was definitely a highlight. A few minutes later, Halt and Alyss strode into the small clearing.

--

'Oberjarl, I've learnt that a treacherous swine has invaded Araluen,' a Skandian whispered to Erak. The Skandian was a messenger sent by Erak's friend, Svengal. Svengal had recently been promoted from a Skirl to a Jarl, a higher rank, and a privileged one at that.

Erak cursed. It could only have been Slagor II and Erak swore as he realised that, at first, he had forgotten Slagor II existed and the fact that he hadn't noticed his disappearance. Worse yet, he realised with a sinking feeling that he was going to have to ride a horse to get to Svengal quickly.

* * *

**Review!! Or I'll, um, visit you in the middle of the night with an axe (yay, go axes!) and threaten you and make you review. AND TO MACNASHI AND JEMELON, NO MORE REVIEWS FROM YOU TWO, UNLESS THEY'RE HONEST AND NOT SOME CRAZY SCHEME. Anyway, REVIEW!! I'll have prizes soon!**


	8. Messenger

**Hello yet again. This is mainly for a disclaimer, which I keep forgetting. **

**Disclaimer: Yeah, I sooooo own R.A. because I'm rich and awesome and my name is John Flanagan. NOT. If I wrote R.A. then Will and Alyss would have been together a long time ago, and the pretty girls would not all be blonde. (Haven't you noticed? Alyss is blonde, Evanlyn/Cassandra is blonde, and Tyrell is blonde. Delia or whatever her name is isn't.) Also, Evanlyn/Cassandra would be dead. And Tyrell would be in the story more. ['Uncle, can I have an axe for my birthday?']**

**Anyway, thank you to all the people who reviewed, BUT I WANT MORE!! Reviews make me happy, even if it's just, 'Your story sucks.' Ok, maybe not, but still!! REVIEW, PEOPLE (excluding MacNashi and Jemelon)!! REVIEW!! *speaks through clenched teeth* _REVIEWS KEEP ME HAPPY. ME+HAPPY=GOOD STORY_. Get the point?**

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**Chapter 8: Messenger**

Lady Pauline sat on a chair at the desk in her apartment overlooking the clearing in the forest. She could see Halt fully and sighed wearily. She had been so caught up in her work lately that she didn't know what everyone was doing. She had missed Halt at mealtimes, which seemed to be the only time Halt was around, for he _never _missed dinner. Now she realised that it was time for him to get a haircut. Jokes, she noticed, around the village were based on Halt's long growing, messy beard. She made a mental note to tell him, and force him into getting his beard cut, instead of asking him to cut his beard, because that would be exactly what he would do, with help from his 'trusty saxe knife'. A loud rap came from the door and she realised that while she had been daydreaming, someone had been impatiently knocking on the door.

'Come in,' she called. Aaron entered. Inwardly, Lady Pauline had been cursing him. She had enough on her mind without Aaron bothering her.

'Your Majesty,' began Aaron in a voice he had hoped sounded royal and rich, but really came out horrible and squeaky.

'Lady Pauline will do,' Lady Pauline interrupted.

'My dear Lady Pauline, I have come to pass on a message.'

Aaron had arrived at Castle Redmont and had wanted a job. Messenger wasn't as royal and knightly as he had hoped for, but he had decided it was a step towards being a knight.

'Get on with it, and I am _not_ 'your dear' anything,' Lady Pauline said, surprisingly gruff and rather Halt like for herself. Aaron gave her a hurt look. She sighed and a made a 'go on' gesture.

'Well,' Aaron began, trying to make his voice in an offended but willing to forgive sort of voice. My dear fiancée, Gabriella and I were taking a nice, leisurely walk, talking about our grand wedding plans, and were up to talking about...' Aaron paused and looked thoughtful up to the ceiling.

'Oh yes,' he began again. 'It was about how long the train of her dress was to be, actually, no, it was about whether or not she should wear a veil or tiara.'

Lady Pauline inwardly groaned, and resolved to let the Baron know that Aaron needed some serious lessons on when to elaborate, and when not to. And it figured that they would talk about something as vain as that, too.

'I thought a veil would look quite beautiful but she preferred the tiara, in the end I think that we decided upon both.' Aaron was enjoying this as much as Lady Pauline didn't. Aaron opened his mouth to continue, but Lady Pauline cut him off immediately.

'Look, she said. 'Could you please get to the serious stuff, or is this all you came to talk about? I have business to attend to.' She immediately regretted her words when Aaron's face fell.

'I'm so sorry for wasting your time milady,' he said in his horrible, sarcastic voice, and Lady Pauline no longer regretted her words.

'I will continue. The lovely Gabriella and I were walking in the woods, and we came across a young man about Alyss' age stumbling along with rags for clothes, a black eye, cuts, bruises and muttering incoherently. We brought him back here and the nurses seemed to know him, from the castle orphanage wards or something.' Aaron cleared his throat before continuing. 'It seems he is lucky to be alive,' Aaron gave an angry look and said, 'I don't know any more, they wouldn't tell me anything, but they want you, Halt, Horace, Will, Alyss, someone called Killan and Gailee or something.'

'Killan and Gailee!?' Lady Pauline exclaimed. 'Oh, Gilan and Ailee!' Lady Pauline laughed.

'Same difference,' Aaron muttered. 'The main point is that they didn't invite me! And me being a knight and all!'

'You are a knight?' Pauline asked, trying to think of something worse.

'Well I'm going to be one, anyway,' Aaron said haughtily. 'You hat better start to practice calling me 'Sir,'' and with that he marched out.

'Wait!'

Aaron turned back.

'Who exactly is the 'young man' you were talking about?'

'Well one nurse called him George, and another Georgie, and they asked him about legal arguments,' he stalked out.

'George!' was all Pauline could say.

--

'Ahem.'

Halt turned and saw Aaron standing there, with a noticeable discomfort. Lady Pauline, who was watching from above knew that Halt would make sure that Aaron wouldn't elaborate.

'A young man, whose name appears to be George demands to see Halt, Horace, Gilan, Will, Alyss and Lady Pauline immediately in the Great Hall! I have already spoken to Lady Pauline. Now Halt and Alyss, would you please tell me where to find Gilan, Horace and Will?'

'I am Gilan, and this is my apprentice Ailee.' A voice came, making Aaron jump. He noticed a young man and girl standing next to Halt.

'Oh, sorry sir, I didn't see you there,' Aaron stammered. Gilan smiled and Ailee piped up saying,

'I've heard about you,' then blushing, realising what she had said, but knowing if she apologized, that it would be confirmed that she had heard bat things not food, Ailee had been trying to cure her habit of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.

'Yes we have,' Gilan said while Ailee glanced at him gratefully.

'Well where can I find Will and...' Aaron trailed off and stared behind Halt where Horace was galloping at full speed towards them on his horse, Kicker. Horace looked like a beggar, tattered clothes with bruises and cuts all over him. He had obviously broken his arm and wrapped it in cloth. Horace handed Halt a tattered piece of parchment, muttered, 'I don't know where Will or George is, the letter's from Will, and the attachment is some information Will found, I don't know what it is.' Then just after Gilan caught him, fell on the ground.

* * *

**Review!! Please? Virtual chocolate for anyone who reviews! (virtual=I keep real chocolate, you get imaginary chocolate)**


	9. Bait

**Hi people. Me again. Thanks for all the reviews. AND FOR ALL YOU PEOPLE WHO WANTED REAL CHOCOLATE, NO IT'S ALL MINE!! MWAHAHAHAHA!! MINE, I SAY, MINE!! Anyway, if Will's your favourite character, or one of them, sorry, but Will annoys me, so I'm going to be fooling around with him as guinea pig for a while. *evil, psychotic laugh of chaos and doom* Sorry if it seemed really rushed, but anyway...**

**To Hades Krazy Daughter: My chocolate! And yes, I am evil, and I prefer to think of it as, _ahem_, encouragement, rather than blackmail. There will be plenty of deaths, because I am also sick and twisted. I've got several planned out, and not all of the characters who die are bad ones. *intensely evil grin of evilly evilness which is CHAOTIC!!* You will get your Will. *more evilness***

**To TheStarr: As I said before: MY REAL CHOCOLATE!! And you think people would have noticed that there's more hair colours in the world than blonde, which is a fancy word for yellow. No offense to blondes, but yellow hair is overrated. I think Alyss can stay blonde, because it suits her sort of, Evanlyn would be good with red/brown hair, and so wuld Tyrell. Delia (book 5) is the practically the only girl who is not blonde. Pfft. TYRELL WILL COME!! YAY!! And I'll probably make her dye her hair. *evil grin***

**To MacNashi and Jemelon: See? Your nicknames aren't so bad. Just because Shree wanted you to be named after fruits. (By the way, everyone else, I'm 'Grawberri'.) MacNashi, you're getting really protective of Ailee. Jemelon, you wrote the end, I didn't edit that bit.**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN RANGER'S APPRENTICE. There, I said it.**

**

* * *

****Chapter 9: Bait**

'I can't believe it. He's gone, GONE I TELL YOU!' Slagor II roared and slammed his fist down on the table with fury and frustration.

'Shut up. Someone might be listening,' Foldar interrupted.

'THAT HARDLY MATTERS, FOLAR! GEORGE IS GONE!'

'SHUT UP!!'

'Aww, shucks, Foldar. This is gonna kill our plan.'

'Did it really take you that long to realise?'

'Shut up.'

'Nice comeback.'

Slagor II looked up in surprise.

'That was _sarcasm_, idiot.'

--

Casca'de heard Slagor II's words. Apparently 'George' was gone, whoever that was, and Slagor was pretty angry. The girl shook her head, then entered the inn.

--

'Horace?'

Horace blinked. The he muttered something along the lines of: 'Will... Slug... fell... clumsy idiot... funny... too loud... blub...'

'Blub?' Ailee asked, 'Gilan is 'blub' a code word or something?'

Horace nodded, then said, 'It's Slagor II's password to get the key.'

'Key?'

'To the cells...'

--

'LET ME OUT! OUT! I SAY OUT!' Will yelled. Then he woke up. 'Oh, good, just a dream. Just a dream.'

''Ello there. So ye've finally woken up? What's yer name, Ranger?'

'Wha...? Who are you?'

'I'm the innkeeper here. Name's Shaun, good sir.'

'Oh. I'm Will.'

'Nice to see ye up. When me wife found ye, ye was all beat up.'

'Oh, that's right... Slagor II and Foldar were there. Oh! Did your wife see a tall warrior when she saw me?'

'I dunno. HEY LORNA! THE RANGER WANTS TO ASK YE SOMETHIN'' Shaun shouted.

A woman with brown hair and bright blue eyes walked into the room. 'I'm Lorna, Ranger. At yer service, like.'

'Did you see a tall warrior with me?'

'No, sir, only ye. But there was tracks. Hoof tracks. Gallopin', like.'

'Horace must've run,' Will mused. 'I wonder if he took my letter...'

--

When Casca'de entered the inn, she heard shouting. Something about a Ranger was to ask someone called 'Lorna' something. Then a rather beaten-up looking Ranger walked down the stairs. She'd seen him before...

--

George heard something creak. It was the middle of the night, and he was still stuck in the infirmary. He had woken up, and been unable to get back to sleep, so he thought. He thought of Slagor II and Foldar, but of course, he didn't know their names, so he called them Stinky and Smelly.

_They kidnapped me. But I'm a hero, and outwitted them, and I managed to get back. ME!! I will find them again, though. I'll find them, and fight both of them at once! I will be awarded by the king, and he'll make me an honourary knight!_

Those were his last thoughts before he smelt something funny in the air. His mind drifted away, far away into unknown darkness.

--

'He's gone!'

'Someone took dear old Georgie!'

'Poor boy, kidnapped by those thugs, most like!'

'Who would do such a thing? 'The infirmary was filled with noise. But Horace was silent. He was willing to bet his life that Slagor II, or 'Slug', as he remembered calling him, and Foldar had taken 'Georgie' back.

--

'HA! We have the bait back!!' Slagor II was thrilled.

'Yeah, yeah. I'm happy too.' Foldar growled.

'NOW WE CAN PLOT THEIR, ahem, DEMISE!!'

--

'You again!' Will shouted, then instinctively drew his throwing knife and threw, aiming to kill. Casc'ade ducked, but the blade still scratched her shoulder.

'Well, that wasn't very nice, now was it?' She picked up the blade. 'As well as unnecessary.'

Fortunately for Will, the inn was surprisingly empty. He drew his saxe knife just as the innkeeper walked in. 'Well, what are ye doin' there, Ranger sir? Drawin' a knife on a chit like 'er?' Shaun asked.

'I can take care of myself innkeeper,' Casca'de said coldly, drawing her own blade, an evil-looking dagger made of smooth, black obsidian. The hilt had a few black opals embedded in it, looking like a dark versions of Gilan's blue stone.

'Eep.' Shaun said, and backed out of the room.

Casca'de and Will glared at each other. They glared for so long that Will started laughing. He laughed some more and then resheathed his saxe knife. 'Okay, then. I must say that I'm feeling quite curious. What brings you here?' Will asked.

'I'm following the big Northerner and his skinny friend with a sword twice as big as him.'

Will suppressed a smile. She had described Foldar perfectly. 'And why?'

'It's simple. Gilan and Ailee asked me to.'

'Unfortunately, I learned that things just aren't that simple.'

'You have a suspicious mind, Ranger.'

'Of course I do. It's my job. Future job, anyway.'

'I see.'

'By the way, that's a nice dagger you have there.'

'Thank you, I think.'

'Mind having a friendly duel?'

'Let's go.' With that, Casca'de walked outside with Will close behind.

--

'Cells? What cells?' Gilan demanded.

'Not sure. Just know about the cells. I ran with Will, at first, you know,' Horace said, getting totally sidetracked. 'They knocked him out and then half way through the ride, Will fell off Tug! Tug's here, right?'

'Yes, he is.'

'Oh, good.'

--

Halt had made Will practice his weapon skills until they were instinct. Yet somehow, he dropped his guard long enough for Casca'de to disarm him, and hold her dagger at his throat. She stared at him coldly for a few seconds, then broke into a grin. 'I win!' she announced, then let loose a peal of laughter. Will was amazed. He'd never thought that he would _ever_ see her laugh, ever.

'Fine, but I was out of practice.'

'So was I,' she replied evenly. He glared. 'And _I'm_ not a future Ranger, either. _I_ wasn't trained as a Ranger apprentice. _I_ didn't have 'the legendary Halt' as my mentor.'

'But I'm out of shape!' Will blushed as he realised how that might be interpreted. She saw his ears turn red and grinned.

'Time for a diet?'

'You know what I mean!'

'Pfft. Yeah, sure, whatever you say.' She teased him, laughing.

Will wanted to hit her. For once he couldn't think of a reply, except: 'Shut up.'

* * *

**I love that word. Demise. [Tip: if you say it in a low evil voice while raising your eyebrows, it is really creepy, and will make people look at you weird, and possibly back away.] TO THOSE WHO ARE BLOODTHIRSTY AND VICIOUS, JUST LIKE ME: THE DEATHS ARE COMING. To everyone: REVIEW!!**


	10. Unloved

**HI GUYS!! I'm proud of you, just for all of the reviews, especially anyone not named MACNASHI OR JEMELON. Hi Sammy-Pip! Nice to see you!! Ok messages:**

**To JR-From-FLC: SHUT UP JOSH!! STOP RUINING IT ALL!!!!! *growls in frustration* **

**To Hades Krazy Daughter: Sorry, Will's not dying YET. He dies in the sequel. Horace is the first to die. *evil maniacal laugh***

**To MacNashi: .......... over protective weirdo! I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND A WORD YOU WERE SAYING ABOUT HEDWIG!! pfft. Rematches are tools of a DEMENTED ODDITY.**

**To Sammy-Pip: I agree about the rematch thing, no idea what exactly was going on with Hedwig, and yeah................**

**To !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!: I DON'T CARE IF THAT WAS THE WRONG AMOUNT OF EXCLAMATION MARKS. And 'col'? I'm assuming you mean 'cool'. Thanks, I think.**

**To Brandon-Smith: You sure you got the right story? No dying has happened just yet. (Has it? I can't quite remember.)**

**To Sanjaya if you reviewed but I can't tell: GO AWAY.**

**Anyway, this would be chapter 10, right? IT IS NOW. TWO CHAPTERS LEFT UNTIL HORACE'S DEATH!!!!!!!!! *evil maniacal psychotic laugh of chaos and doom*

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**Chapter 10: Unloved**

Aaron was sulking outside the Great Hall, waiting for Alyss or Lady Pauline to come out so he could ask whether to wear his hair loose and (in his opinion) flirtatious, or wear a giant purple hat with a curled blue feather. A movement and the sound of rustling skirts caught his attention, and he looked to see Gabriella sweep gracefully around the corner. He waved, and she smiled, walked up to him, and kissed him, then walked out the door. Aaron simply could not understand why Lady Pauline or Alyss didn't like or fall for his charm. He was _so_handsome, especially compared to the little runt Will or the ungroomed Halt. If he was a knight Alyss would adore him and marry him. Alyss as his bride seemed much better than Gabriella. Aaron imagined Alyss with her pale hair under a glittering veil, and a white silk dress and him, her knight in shining amour, right beside. It was the perfect image. But, since in his opinion he was so clever, he had a back up plan. Ailee. He'd seen her around the castle, watched her fade away into the forest, stared at her as she walked down the path leading to the castle, tried to follow her to Gilan's cabin, rode down the same path she had with hope that he might find her, and tried to sneak into her room to surprise her. He was a stalker.

--

Gabriella entered her bathroom, spat and rinsed out her mouth. She had kissed him. Entering her bedchamber, she flung herself onto her bed and cried. 'Why him? Why? Why not Gilan? Him, of all people! I have to be engaged to _him_. Damn him to the deepest corner of hell!' Since she had first laid eyes on Gilan, she had found herself in the inescapable void of love. She hated Ailee and the cook, whatever her name was. Jenny, that was it. Gabriella cursed Aaron repeatedly, screaming and crying. The idiot still had not returned with Lady Pauline's advice on whether to wear a veil or a tiara. She elegantly gathered her skirts, washed away her tears, and stalked outside.

--

'Wait, why are you going after Slagor II and Foldar again?' Will asked, confused out of his mind.

Casca'de sighed, her patience wearing thin. That was the fourteenth time he'd asked. 'Gilan convinced me that I wouldn't be wasting my time if I followed him.' Will gave her yet another confused look. She bit her lip and silently counted to four hundred, then continued. 'I needed a purpose when we first met.'

'Oh. I see.' Will said, then stayed silent for a while. 'What exactly do you mean again?'

--

'Go forward you stupid old nag!' Erak shouted, his frustration beginning to take over. He hit the horse's rump to force the creature forward. 'NO!! NOT LEFT! FORWARD!!' The horse looked at him, then turned around and started walking back to where they had come from.

--

Many falls and curses later, the Oberjarl and his 'little demon of an animal' reached _Wolfwind_.

'Gorlog's beard, you're here! Took you long enough!' Svengal greeted his leader with a yell.

'I am _not_ taking this thing with us.' Erak said, gesturing to the horse. The horse seemed to take offense, and with a whinny brought up its left hind leg and kicked the Oberjarl in the knee. Svengal tried to stifle the laughter he felt, but he couldn't help himself. Erak glared at him.

'Oh go ahead and laugh while I set the little horsie on you then!' Svengal shut up in a hurry.

'Anyways, we need to reach the coast of Skorjihl and ambush Slagor II.' Svengal explained. 'Easy and simple. And we can say hello to Will and his friends.'

'Hmm... yes, I think so. But let's pay Halt and Will a visit first, see what exactly's going on.'

--

George grumbled and squirmed in one of the cells located beneath the deck of _Wolfdeath_.

'Quit squirming and shut up already!' Foldar yelled.

'Your fault you want him alive.' Slagor II told Foldar, then turned to George. 'If you don't shut up and be good we'll through you into the sea!'

George stopped squirming.

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**Sorry it's a short chapter, but you've got to make way for the longer ones! REVIEW!! Please review!**


	11. The Subconcious Part of the Brain

**I'm back! Sorry for not updating recently but I was all tied up. Anyway, I'm just trying to post as many chapters as possible today.**

**To Hades Krazy Daughter: You almost cried when you found out Horace was going to die? Hmmm... But, yes, I had to tell the people.**

**ON WITH THE STORY!! (ONE MORE CHAPTER UNTIL THE FIRST DEATH!! YAY!!)**

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**Chapter 11: The Subconcious Part of the Brain**

'Horace?' Horace spun to stare at Cassandra.

'Oh, it's you!' Horace said, his blue eyes boring in Cassandra's green ones. He scanned her face, his eyes tracing her blonde hair, soft earnest face, small pale lips and lightly tanned skin. His eyes followed the dip of her nose, and down, he ran his eyes over her body, and thought: _I wish-_

'Horace?' Cassandra's voice interrupted his thoughts. 'Do you believe in love at first sight?'

'Yes. It's, uh, happened to a friend of mine.' he replied, while thinking _I experienced it when I first laid eyes on you_.

'Well, you see, I've been keeping this a secret for a while now, and I think it's time I let you know. Promise you won't get mad.'

'I promise.' _Why on earth would I get mad at you for loving me?_

'I love you, Horace Altman. I love you with all my heart and soul. I may be mortal but my love for you is undying.'

Horace opened his mouth to reply with something equally mushy and lovesick until-

--

'Here's your dinner!' Foldar smirked as Slagor II put a dish of half rotted vegetables in front of their prisoner. George, already feeling sick from the rocking of the boat, took one whiff of the food and promptly threw up all over Slagor II. Foldar stared, and concealed a smile. Slagor II wrinkled his nose.

'Great, now I'm gonna have to take a bath.' Slagor muttered as he stormed off. 'AND YOU'RE NEXT FOLDAR!!'

'Crap. Baths are such a waste of time.' Foldar muttered.

'Yes, I can tell you think that.' A voice came floating down the hall.

'What the-?' Foldar turned to see a black-haired girl theatrically plugging her nose. The girl yanked out a blue stone, and spun it gently. Foldar moved forward to catch her, but found himself at her knees, staring up at the blue stone.

'Give in, Foldar... Just look at the beautiful blue...' Casca'de smirked as Foldar grew increasingly bewitched and helpless against the stone.

'Heheheh...' Foldar said incoherently. 'That's a pretty blue you've got there, missy.'

--

'Where is Foldar? It's time for _his_bath!' Slagor marched around, his hair still dripping. He hurled people around the boat, and threw some unfortunates overboard. He picked up a chair, and brought it smashing down, cutting his palm open on a splinter. Blood welled out, and splattered everywhere as Slagor continued his rampage. The rowers continued rowing timidly, totally unaware that they were travelling in circles, and not even bothering to wipe Slagor II's blood off their faces. Meanwhile, Foldar was being subjected to interrogation...

--

What was these questions the girl asked? Why was he on his knees, as if begging for his life? All Foldar could remember was blue, so he frowned and thought as hard as he could, but his eyes drifted upwards, and he gave into the blue once more.

--

'Where are you going?' Casca'de asked softly.

'None of your business.' Foldar said automatically.

'Excuse me? Mind answering that again? Where are you going?' she asked again, with a firm tone.

'Skandia. We're taking the boy to Skandia.'

'I see. I'm leaving now, and promise me that you won't say a word about my visit.'

'NO!! DON'T GO!! Keep the blue here.'

'I'll be back. Promise me you won't breathe a word.'

'I promise.'

--

Will steadied himself on Tug, before galloping off down the path. He decided that it would take approximately five days to get to Slagor II's ship, and that would tire Tug out. To fix that, he'd hired Dashni, a young spirited mare, who had immediately made friends with Tug. Every five hours or so he would swap horses, to give them a break. Both were good, and would have carried him for a lot longer, and he appreciated that, but he couldn't visit Slagor II with exhausted horses that couldn't outrun a charging Skadian.

--

'Horace! Wake up!' One of Horace's temporary roommates, Eiran said, shaking Horace's shoulders. Ildmor was one of the identical twins. He had exactly the same wavy brown hair as his brother, Rone, and the same arched eyebrow shape, and the same twinkling green eyes. Everything about them was the same, except their noses.

Horace moaned, and stretched. 'Did you have to wake me? I was having the most wonderful dream ever...' He grinned stupidly, remember the dream, where Cassandra had declared her undying love for him. Eiran stared at Horace, and decided not to metion there was part of a mint leaf stuck between Horace's teeth.

'The Crown Princess wants to see you!'

'OH!' Horace jumped up in a hurry, hitting his head on the low roof. 'CASSANDRA, BABY, HERE I COME!'

--

Horace stared at Cassandra like he had in his dream. He watched her green eyes glow with nervousness and anticipation. Her red-tinged hair was loose, and he could smell the sweet scent coming of it. His mind didn't quite register the fact that her hair wasn't supposed to be red-tinged, he was almost giggling with excitement. He was high, and getting higher as her curved pink-painted lips opened to speak.

'Horace? Do you believe in love at first sight?'

Horace nearly gasped, now totally sure his dream had been a premonition. 'Yes. It's, uh, happened to a friend of mine.

'Well, you see, I've been keeping this a secret for a while now, and I think it's time I let you know. Promise me you won't get mad.'

'I promise.'

'I love...'

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***sticks out tongue* I love cliffies! Anyway, that's two today! I'll try for another, but after maybe two chapters later, it'll be slowing down because ithe rest hasn't been written, but the plot's all ready! YAY! Reviews are loved!**


	12. Fall of the Knight in Shining Armour

****

HI AGAIN!!!! Time for chapter 12! That's one number away from my lucky number! YAY!

**To Hades Krazy Daughter: How many times do you check your emails? You must either have a lot of important stuff coming in or be really really bored. And it's NOT Horace and Cassandra.**

**To MacNashi: How many times do you check to see if I've updated? Oh, and Hedwig says: 'Stop being a poopy head and don't blame the human who doesn't remember every detail that weirdos say.'**

**To Sammy-Pip: ..... read MacNashi's**

**Anyway, chapter 12! It's chapters like these that make it rated T! Sorry for my over use of exclamation marks. I don't like putting them in the story, and I'm a bit high.**

**

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**

**Chapter 12: Fall of the Knight in Shining Armour**

'Will!' Cassandra finished. Horace turned white, then green, then red.

'You what?!' Horace exclaimed. _It's just a dream, just a dream!_ Horace thought desperately. This could not be happening.

Cassandra looked at his face, gave him a sympathetic smile, and touched his arm to get his attention. 'I'm sorry.' she said, then ran, leaving him utterly alone.

--

Foldar's head had cleared, and the girl had disappeared. He lay on his bunk in his small cabin and moaned. How could he have given in so easily? He thought back. Foldar didn't remember exactly what had happened, because his memories were blurred and filled with blue. _Such a pretty blue_. He would do anything for that blue. Foldar had meant to tell Slagor II about the girl, but every time he tried, his mind would go blank.

--

Horace ran. He whispered to every non-Araluan he met. He hated Cassandra. And soon she would be queen, and revenge would be impossible. But Horace had thought of a way. By undermining the kingdom, he would create chaos and vulnerability in Araluen, therefore considerably lessening the ruler's power. Horace decided to turn traitor.

He turned and knocked on the door of a small farm. He would spread rumours about the princess, cut her down to size, then disappear into Picta, beyond the power of Araluen.

The door opened. In the doorway stood Cassandra, the Crown Princess, Will's lover. She looked at Horace, clearly confused.

'Princess?' Horace blurted out incredulously.

'You're a knight of Araluen! Help me! She's pretending to be me! She ruined me!' the girl exclaimed.

'What? Who's she?'

'Evanlyn. My maid. She betrayed me! Oh, Sir Knight, help me ruin her!!'

'Well,' said Horace, sensing a chance to ruin Araluen further. 'We could bring dishonour to her future kingdom, and then run to Picta.'

'Oh, yes!'

--

Casca'de had heard every word Horace and the real Cassandra had exchanged. She watched Horace as he entered his room in the inn to dump his belongings, and prepare for dinner. She followed him in. She had a plan.

--

Horace washed his face, and changed out of his stiff knightly riding clothes, and into a soft cotton shirt and pants ensemble. He walked down the stairs into the main dinig room, and glanced around. A black-haired girl sat in the corner. He knew her. She was the one who had tried to kill Halt, and nearly gotten herself killed. He had not yet heard of Casca'de's new alignment on the Ranger side. He sensed a possible ally. Walking over to her, he casually asked if she would mind him sitting with her. She glanced up, then smiled.

'Go ahead.' she said.

'Thanks. I hear this place has really good food.' he replied, starting a casual conversation. It wouldn't do to arouse her suspicions too quickly. They ate, and he started to talk about his plan. She smiled, tentatively at first, then when he'd finished, she grinned at him. He invited her up to his room, and she agreed. Horace led her up, opened the door, and in they went.

--

Casca'de entered Horace's room, dragged him in, and slammed the door. She pinned him to the floor quickly, taking advantage of his shock. She straddled him, her long black hair falling to pool around his head. Horace looked into Casca'de's eyes, and saw a deep hunger there, one he thought he understood. His breaths came fast and heavy, then he stopped breathing all together. Her hands were around his throat, and she squeezed. His faced changed colour, from pale-not-quite-white-but-definitely-not-yellow to a purplish-blue. He tried desperately to throw her off, but he was weak from lack of air. His eyes bulged, he gasped, and went completely limp. Casca'de's eyes no longer burned with a hungry fire, she had done her work, and the traitor lay dead at her feet, strangled.

--

Evanlyn searched in vain for Will. She needed him to hold her, tell her that she was wonderful and perfect, tell her how much he loved her, and how they would spend the rest of eternity together. She enjoyed the feeling. When she had been a maid, she had seduced either messengers or guards to stay with her, love her, and kiss her gently as they told her that she was beautiful and perfect. Of course, there were many messengers and guards, so she usually never saw them after that one night. Now she was a princess, maybe not entirely legally, but still, she had the role of a princess, so it was time to settle down and be good with a person she truly loved. Will. It was all because of him that she was a princess, living in luxury. It was because of him that she had turned towards a long lasting relationship, rather than one night stands. And it was with him she wanted a relationship.

--

Will passed the inn where Horace had spent his last moments. Just a few minutes ago, Casca'de had moved his body into the bed, and covered him, to delay the discovery. Sure, people didn't sleep with their eyes open, but she didn't want to touch him. She'd nearly thrown up after the kill. Will glanced around, feeling uneasy, without knowing why. A black mare trotted out of the inn's stable, with a rider cloaked anonymously in dark grey. The rider's hooded head lifted, the hood shadowing the rider's face.

'Greetings, Will.' The rider knew his name. Will felt a surge of fear shake him. His hand dropped to the hilt of his saxe knife, but the rider threw back the hood, revealing familiar features.

'Oh, it's you.' Will said, relieved.

'Did I scare you, O Fearless Ranger?' Casca'de smirked, knowing perfectly well she had.

'No. Well, maybe.' Will said a little too hastily. Seeing that she hadn't fallen for it, he tried to defend himself. 'Just a bit!' he protested. 'A besides, you never know who could be out here!'

'Oh, yes, you're right. You can never be too careful. There could be highwaymen, stalkers, serial killers, hooded anonymous riders with various hidden knives.'

'Stop it! Do you enjoy tormenting me?'

'Absolutely.'

'Anyway,' Will said forcefully with a glare, 'What news of Slagor II and Foldar?'

'Not much. They have your friend, they are planning to take him to Skandia, and Slagor II has connections to an expert poisoner. I'll find out more tonight.'

'You're going back there? But it's dangerous! You were lucky to get out alive.'

'No. I have this.' She held up the blue stone. 'Gilan had two, so he gave this one to me to, let's say, _persuade_ either Slagor II or Foldar to tell me their plans.'

'Still! You could be killed!'

'At least I won't have wasted my life.'

'Please. Don't go.'

'Give me a good reason not to.'

'You could get killed.'

'You said that, and that's not a good reason.'

'I love you!' Will blurted. Casca'de looked amused.

'No, you don't. You love Alyss. Even a blind man would be able to see that.' Will had no reply. 'I thought so. Oh, and Horace turned traitor against Araluen. He was trying to get back at the future queen for rejecting him.'

'What happened to him? Was he caught?'

'He's dead. And Will? Do me a favour?'

'Sure.'

'Look after Nightshade. Get reinforcements. You have someone and something to live for. Don't waste your life. Farewell.' Then she dismounted, and left, leaving her horse, Nightshade, with Will. Will sent a messenger pigeon to Gilan and Halt, then headed off to the inn, where he would sleep and wait. Casca'de was right. He had someone to live for. That night, he wrote to Alyss.

--

Aaron had found out where Will had gone, so he followed him on a 'knightly quest to protect the inferior'. Pretty soon, he had seen Slagor II's ship. Curious, he boarded.

--

Casca'de set her messenger pigeon loose. She had found out what she needed. Now her job was almost complete. Metally, she ticked off what she had done. Now all she needed to do was get herself captured, and the rest of her plan would fall into place. She boarded the ship, and climbed down below the deck. Almost immediately she heard footsteps behind her. Perfect.

--

Aaron found himself face to face with a large man. The man looked surprised, then grabbed Aaron with a grubby hand, and knocked him out with his other big grubby hand.

--

Slowly, everything focused, and Aaron could see his surroundings. 'HELP! HELP!' he called.

'Shut up.' A girl's voice came from his east wall. He peered through a tiny hole in his cell. He saw a dark-haired girl sitting on her bunk in an identical cell. Aaron looked through a hole in his west wall and saw a boy stretched out on his bunk, moaning and looking rather unhappy and sick.

Suddenly, the floor lurched, and Aaron remembered he was in a boat. The boat rocked violently, and Aaron fell to the floor, bemoaning his luck. He was stuck on a boat that was getting further and further away from land, into an unknown ocean.

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**HA! Poor little Aaron gets what he deserves, a 'knightly quest'. Anyway, I'll update eventually, and please review! REVIEWS MAKE ME HAPPY!!!! (Next chapter is my lucky number!) Unfortunately for all of you, I have to finish this chapter, because no one else could be bothered. Everyone's done a bit. ANYWAY, REVIEW!!!!!!!**


	13. Respect is not bungee jumping

**Chapter 13 **

**Sorry if there is typo's I'm not usually the one typing this up… Jemelon, (now Twitch)**

"Who are you?" The boy in the cell to the west asked.

"Sir Aaron," He replied, "And who are you?"

"George." Aaron recognized the name, but he couldn't figure out where.

"As if I'd tell you," said the girl. The boat lurched to the side and Aaron clutched his stomach. Beside hi cell, George was looking extremely white. Aaron tried to think of something other than the storm going on outside, so he wouldn't be sick, but failed miserably as the boat lurched again. The girl smirked at him,

"I see you are defiantly so knightly, Sir Aaron. You suffer from sea sickness,"

Aaron tried to glare back, but found he was unable to when his mind raced back to the storm outside,

The big fellow who had run into Aaron grabbed him and George from their cells.

I am going to tie you to the mast, I'll be back for you," See, Aaron thought to himself, he does have a soft side.

As soon as they were chained to the mast, Aaron crawled up to the rail and pulled himself up so he was sitting on it. Slagor II saw this action and crept forward, only it was more of a banged forward. Aaron, in his ignorance, didn't notice. In the next second, Aaron was hoisted up by the chain and dunked in the water. He struggled, trying to pull himself up, and he did, for a second, but only to get a small breath before being thrown underwater again, this time getting an electric shock as lightening hit the water.

--

Will quickly mounted Dashni and cantered down the path, listening to the "Clip clop" sound of Dashni and Tugs hoof beats on the dusty path. His mind began to wonder to Alyss...

--

Alyss sat in Lady Pauline's apartment, waiting for her. Apparently she had an important mission to work on. Normally she would have been excited, but she didn't feel in the mood. Her thoughts began to wonder to Will…

--

Will looked back to make sure Nightshade was following. She was, so Will urged Dashni to a gallop. He soon reached the place where he was meeting Crowley. Halt, Gilan and Alyss. He slowed the horses down, and glanced around. He saw Crowley up a tree, and Halt in a neighboring tree. He waved and the two older rangers climbed down to greet him.

"Hey there, Will! Collecting horses are we?" Crowley said

"Not exactly," Will grinned. He had a story which would probably stun them. His thoughts were interrupted by Alyss, Ailee and Gilan heading towards him. He waved, and then moved to hug Alyss.

--

Aaron leapt out of the water, his muscles tingling. He spat out some salty water, and then shrieked as he fell back in.

--

Slagor II dunked Aaron back in, then out, then in, then out (like some sort of evil twisted bungee jumping, designed to bring pain, not pleasure). After a few hours or fun, he yanked the shivering boy out of the water, gesturing to Foldar, and swung the boy into the air. Foldar grabbed a wooden plank and used it as a bat to hit Aaron. Aaron flew upwards and hit the deck at George's feet.

"Look George! You've got a worshipper!" Casca 'de' said. Even George seemed to want to torment him.

"Yes, so I do. He can be my priest," Aaron glared.

--

After the storm passed, Aaron, George and Casca 'de' were locked back into their cells. Aaron wailed pathetically, and George moaned. Casca 'de' remained silent, her face unreadable. Slagor II and Foldar went to celebrate their very small ball came, with Aaron as the ball. They ate the biscuits sparingly, but ate heartily, finishing a total of 27 ½ bottles of wine, 31 jugs of ale, and 16 1/3 glasses of whiskey. The biscuits were soft but good, and Slagor II decided to be nice in a twisted way and give the prisoners one each.

--

Aaron looked up as his cell door opened to reveal Slagor II. Foldar smirked and nearly fell from his drunkenness, and then Slagor II threw a biscuit at Aaron, hitting his forehead. The biscuit smashed and the crumbs fell to the floor.

"Eat up," Slagor II encouraged, then moved on to George. Aaron watched through the hole.

The biscuit flew to Georges head, but Georges hand blocked it. The biscuit ricocheted off his hand, and broke on the floor. Slagor II smirked and moved onto the last prisoner, Casca 'de'. He hurled the biscuit at her. Her hand flew up and snatched it out of the air. Slagor II growled in frustration, and Foldar looked almost respectful.

Until she broke it in half and sent the pieces straight at him and Slagor II.


	14. Death by Croissant

**So sorry for not posting for ages. I had writers block. Again. **

**I'm reaaaaally sorry. Please forgive me. *sudden mood swing* FORGIVE ME OR I'LL FORCE A CROISSANT ON YOU!**

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**Chapter 14: Death by Croissant**

'Uncle, can I have an axe for my birthday?' Tyrell blinked earnestly.

'I don't see why not.' Svengal replied gruffly.

'Thanks!'

--

Will told his tale, and the Rangers went off separately to think. Now Will was in his tent with Alyss, and he played with her hair.

'You know, Alyss, I love you.' Will said casually. Alyss inhaled sharply.

'Really?'

'Yes.'

'I love you too, Will, I love you too.'

'Thank you. For everything.'

'What made you suddenly realise?'

'Casca'de. She said: '_you have someone to live for_'. And she's right. I do. You.'

'I have someone, as well. You.'

Will opened his mouth to reply, but Alyss silenced him with a kiss.

--

The next morning, Crowley handed everyone a couple of croissants. Will decided to toast his, and Ailee winced when she saw the result: a charred, smoky, thing bearing vague resemblance to a croissant. She moaned when he tried to eat it.

--

Slagor II and Foldar were also preparing croissants, but for a totally different reason. Their's were to help interrogate the prisoners.

Foldar took Casca'de into a room with a small, round table. One the table was small white plate with a croissant.

Slagor II took Aaron into a similar room, and thus began the interrogation.

--

Will moaned in his sleep, and tossed fitfully. He woke abruptly, clutching his stomach. His moaning woke Ailee, who was sleeping in the next tent,.

'What's the matter?' she asked.

'Croissant.' Will muttered, then proceeded to throw up.

'I knew you shouldn't have had that thing you called a toasted croissant, and I was right.'

--

'So.' Foldar began. 'Why did you come here?'

Silence.

'Not much of a talker? Well, why don't you relax a bit, eat your croissant, and begin by telling me your name?'

More silence.

'Damn, girl. You're good at this.'

Even more silence.

'BLOODY HELL!! Look, just eat the damn croissant and answer my questions!'

Again: silence.

'Fine. You win. But I bet you can't win a staring competition.'

Silence, but she stared straight into his eyes, thoroughly scaring him.

'Fine! You win that too! Happy?'

The girl nodded.

--

'Hello. I'm Slagor, the second. Who are you?'

'Sir Aaron.' Aaron said pompously.

'Well, Aaron, it seems that someone has been so clumsy as to leave a perfectly good, non-poisonous croissant behind. Why don't you have it?'

'Well, I don't know. Something doesn't feel right.'

'You mean you don't want your poisonous,' Slagor II coughed, 'I mean, absolutely and totally poison-free croissant.'

'I didn't mean that! I'd love a good crois- WAIT! It's poisoned?'

'Curses. Foiled again. This time by an idiot.'

--

The two men met each other back at the cells.

'How was yours?' Slagor II asked.

'Horrible. Didn't say a word. You?'

'Accidentally said the word poison. Little brat realised.'

'Mine wouldn't touch it. And she won a staring competition.'

'I'll take the last one.'

'Yeah, okay then.' Foldar left, and Slagor II yanked a struggling George out of the cell.

--

'Take a seat, my dear boy.'

George sat.

'Have your perfectly fine, not at all poisoned croissant. And tell me your name.'

'George.'

'George! Oh, yes, that's right! Eat your non-poisonous croissant, George!'

George picked up the croissant, and took a bite. He chewed, and swallowed, looking thoughtfull.

'Nice croissant.' he mumbled appreciatively, then shoved the rest of it into his mouth.

'Thank you.'

Slagor II smiled a nasty smile, picked George up off his feet, and slammed him back into his cell. He didn't need to interrogate this one, he and Foldar already knew all about him.

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**So, yeah. Please review, and I'm really really really really really really sorry.**


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